We need to appreciate more deeply all of God’s creation and its role in our Christian life and daily living.

That was the message from Msgr Michael de Verteuil on the opening day of the Archdiocesan School of Liturgy 2006 at Benet Hall, Mount St Benedict.

“Fr Mike”, as he is known, made the point while delivering the first of his lectures on “Liturgy and Creation”. He was expected to deliver part two on the closing day, August 5.

This year, the focus is on the environment and the overall theme of the lectures is Caring for the Earth – Our Responsibility.

Fr Mike, the rector of the Regional Seminary, said God used creation to teach us and contended that in recent years there has been “a renewed sense of God in creation”.

He added that sections of secular society have been leading efforts for a greater respect for nature and the environment and said he felt “the spirit of God” was present in these efforts.

Fr Mike said the Church at various levels has always called for recognition of and respect for the environment. He went on to say that this recognition could be seen in the Liturgical calendar, the Scriptures and the Liturgy of the Mass.

He gave as examples the fact that each year Easter was fixed according to the moon phases and the Spring Equinox and that, for centuries, the times of daily prayer of the Church were Morning and Evening Prayers.

Many psalms acknowledge the importance of nature, he continued, and pointed also to a line in the Third Eucharistic Prayer in the Mass – “All creation rightly gives you praise.”

He recalled too that many years ago, priests used to bless agricultural fields so that the harvests would be fruitful. “These were known as Rogation Days,” he noted.

“It is difficult to focus on God and ignore what God has made,” Fr Mike said, adding that while we could not see God, “He reveals himself to us through the visible – the things he has made – either directly from nature, or made by human hands.”

He said in the Liturgy of the Mass, the water, bread and wine were examples of how God uses his creation to help us have “a divine encounter” with him.

Fr Mike told participants that human beings were the high point of God’s creation, and we were therefore entrusted with the care of nature and the environment.

Earlier in the day, Fr Mike, speaking as chair of the Archdiocesan Liturgical Commission, welcomed all participants.

He thanked them for their interest and urged them to see themselves as representatives of their parishes and dioceses. There were a few participants from the dioceses of Grenada, Barbados and Guyana.

Fr Mike described Liturgy School as “a camp with a difference”, which has as its purpose to help participants “grow in service of God and service to the people of God”.

He challenged all to recognise their responsibility to share whatever they learn with their community. He said: “Be open to one another so the spirit of God can blow through. Be open to what God desires of you at Liturgy School 2006...Enjoy the whole experience of study, prayer and life.”

He also thanked members of the organising committee for their efforts, and gave a brief history of the School which was first held in 1977 and singling out a few of the stalwart lecturers like Fr Michel de Verteuil and Fr Ildefons Schroots.

Besides Fr Mike, other speakers at the School this year were Seminary lecturer, Dr Everard Johnston, who spoke on “Creation and Environment”, and agriculturalist Wendy Lee Yuen, who gave a lecture titled “Our Environment – Our Responsibility”.

Fr Martin Sirju was expected to lead discussions on the document on the environment issued by the Antilles Episcopal Conference of Bishops.

Open sessions were held during the week and included discussions on the ongoing controversy over the establishment of an aluminium smelter plant in Chatham.

Holy Mass was celebrated each evening, except Thursday, when a Repentance Service was scheduled.

The post-lunch period, as usual, was occupied with workshop sessions on matters ranging from Altar Server training, Catechetics and Church Art to Guitar, Conflict Resolution, Liturgical Dance, Creative Expression, the ALPHA Programme, and Liturgy and Social Justice.

In all, 16 workshops were conducted by experienced facilitators at locations in and around the Seminary, Mt St Benedict Retreat House, St Benet’s Hall, The Hermitage and the Abbey.

Usually an annual event, Liturgy School was not held last year for logistical reasons. - RS